At the UN Youth Assembly

The UN Youth Assembly 2009 started today, and I've been really impressed by the levels of excitement and enthusiasm among the participants. In just one afternoon, I met with people from Indonesia, China, the USA, Pakistan, Spain and Nigeria, and everyone I spoke with had a really clear vision about what they were hoping to learn or achieve from the event and why they had come.

It's something I've been thinking about lately: I think it's fantastic to have events like this, where youth from all around the world can get together and share ideas. And there seems to be an increasing number of such youth events. There was the World Water Youth Forum, which Joao kept us updated on. Last year, the World Bank's Annual Meetings included a youth session. There was the Alliance of Civilizations youth forum. The Junior 8 Summit took place some weeks ago in Italy. The Copenhagen climate conference in December will also include youth sessions. So, what I've been wondering is, what do the actualy participants of such events think about their experience, and do they feel the event can play a strong role in creating change?

I asked a few of the participants at the UN Youth Assembly for their thoughts on this, and what their hopes are for the event.

What do you think? Have you attended any similar youth events? What were your thoughts/experiences? Do you think such events can be effective in creating a change?

What do you think? Have you attended any similar youth events? What were your thoughts/experiences? Do you think such events can be effective in creating a change?